Hamlin adjusting to hectic life after Olympics

Sunday

Apr 13, 2014 at 7:45 AM

Two months ago, Erin Hamlin made Olympic history. Now, if she could just find where she put, well, almost everything.“My room looks like a storage unit,” said Hamlin, who's sorting through items from Lake Placid.

Two months ago, Erin Hamlin made Olympic history.
Now, if she could just find where she put, well, almost everything.

“My room looks like a storage unit,” said Hamlin, who’s sorting through items from Lake Placid.

Hamlin’s Olympic bronze medal – the first singles medal won by a U.S. luger – is safe and sound and has been a constant companion during a dizzying post-Sochi schedule from the glamor of meeting an Academy Award winner to the mundane of schoolwork.

Generally, though, Hamlin’s life AB – after bronze – has been busy, but never boring. A three-time Olympian and nearly lifelong athlete, Hamlin has transitioned from season to off-season, including five years ago after winning the world championship. So, what’s different this spring, weeks after Hamlin’s exhilarating performance in Russia?

“I think now it’s a little bit bigger,” Hamlin said. “I’ve been going to more places further away and it’s more nationally recognized and it’s bigger. It’s been a little busy, but I want to enjoy it while it’s here. I realize it’s not going to last forever.”

The status of being a medalist separates an athlete from other Olympians, according to Boston University professor of sports psychology Adam Naylor.

“An Olympian versus the Olympic medalist, you’re the president versus the politician,” Naylor said. “It’s amazing to be an elite athlete, but once one gets their hands on the hardware, so to speak, it is life-changing in the of notoriety one gets, the financial opportunities and further opportunities in sport.”

The temporary status of Olympic fame was fine with USA Luge Sports Program Director Mark Grimmette, a five-time Olympian and two-time doubles medalist. He was Hamlin’s teammate early in her career, and he said he encouraged Hamlin to embrace the post-medal experience.

“There are a lot of demands on your time, different community groups, speaking at schools, meeting with sponsors,” Grimmette said. “You can become quite busy in the three to four months after the Games.”

Hamlin is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game Thursday, April 24. She went to an Oscars viewing party in Los Angeles, where she met actor and director Ben Affleck, among other stars who appeared equally interested in the athletes. It doesn’t get much more Hollywood than Affleck.

“It was icing on the cake,” Hamlin said. “We got a lot of comments through the night from stars that they don’t get to hold Olympic medals. It was pretty sweet.”

Hamlin was in Utah for a little rest and recreation and skiing last month. Then she flew to Washington, D.C., for a celebration at The White House for the U.S. Olympic team and to pick up an unexpected award.

Hamlin, a first-time medalist, edged out three gold medalists to win Best Female Athlete of the Games in an online vote by fans. Hamlin remained in Washington, D.C., for a few days for instruction on navigating her post-luge life and career options. As an athlete, Hamlin trains to be prepared for the next event – in luge or life.

The 27-year-old, a nearly 10-year veteran of the senior national team, said her future in the sport is “year to year” and winning a medal doesn’t alter a decision on when to retire.

“It’s open-ended,” Hamlin said. “I definitely will be back next year and I’m not saying that in four years being on an Olympic team is out of the question.”

At the stage where she can unpack and settle into her room in Remsen, Hamlin will be interacting with local community groups, as she’s done in the past. Hamlin is an experienced participant in Sitrin Healthcare celebrity wheelchair games, and she played in another Thursday. The day before, she read to children at the Remsen library. She is scheduled to speak with area high school and college students later this spring.

The activities test her “horrible time management skills,” but there have been relatively few downsides to the attention accompanying an Olympic medalist. The grounded Hamlin said she feels like the same person and “just as normal.”

“People have kids and multiple jobs and they’re way busier than I am,” Hamlin said. “It’s definitely different for me, and I may find it inconvenient, but in the scheme of things I have a pretty good life.”